Stanford-Brazil partnership upcycles hospital textiles and empowers communities

In a bustling hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, textiles like used bed linens, patient gowns, and scrubs all went in the trash until recently. Over time, this textile waste accumulated to eight tons – about the weight of four SUVs – per year, destined for incineration or landfills. However, a groundbreaking upcycling initiative funded by a Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment seed grant is turning this waste into opportunity, sustainability, and economic empowerment for local communities.

The project is the brainchild of Robson Capasso, chief of sleep surgery at the Stanford School of Medicine, and Monica Matsumoto, a visiting scholar at the school and professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) in Brazil. Together with students under the guidance of Jay Borenstein, a lecturer in computer science in the Stanford School of Engineering, they are creating a traceable, data-driven system that redirects textile waste from hospitals into a decentralized network, where it can be upcycled into new, useful products. 

“Waste management in hospitals wasn’t even on most people’s radar,” Capasso said. “This system lets us capture and repurpose that waste.”

The team is piloting the initiative at Brazil’s Albert Einstein Hospital, and collaborating with Orientavida, a nonprofit organization that contracts with seamstresses from vulnerable communities in Brazil’s favelas to turn discarded fabrics into items like tote bags, scrubs, and other products for the hospital’s use. Since implementing the upcycling initiative, called UpLuxo, the Albert Einstein Hospital has redirected thousands of items back into the hospital and community as gifts or functional products.

“What’s powerful about this project is the multiplier effect – environmental, economic, and social impact all in one,” Matsumoto said. “We’re reducing waste, saving costs on incineration, and empowering women as they support their families.”

The technological backbone of the project leverages digital tools to streamline and scale these upcycling efforts. Stanford students in computer science are working in two teams to develop a cloud-based platform that improves logistics and order tracking, allowing all participants to visualize their roles in the upcycling chain. This platform will replace the current manual tracking system with a more automated approach, enhancing efficiency and accessibility.

Previously, the upcycling workflow relied on WhatsApp and spreadsheets, which were inefficient and prone to errors. Now, with a new digital system, hospitals and NGOs can monitor every step in the upcycling process – from waste collection to production to final delivery. The platform also incorporates metrics that track the volume of waste diverted from landfills, giving hospitals and NGOs insights into their impact on sustainability.

According to Capasso, the new system is designed to be scalable. Once the team can show that the model works, they can use it as a blueprint for other hospitals, hotels, airlines, and businesses that want to turn their waste into something useful rather than sending it to a landfill. 

This socially oriented model has already inspired Capasso and Matsumoto to explore expansion into other sectors. The team envisions a community of upcyclers connected across industries, collaborating to give waste materials a second life. There’s potential for expansion into the consumer market, with plans to produce items for sale outside the hospital.

The project’s success would not be possible without a strong interdisciplinary team. Borenstein’s computer science students, many of whom are encountering upcycling and circular economy concepts for the first time, are not just gaining technical experience but also a new perspective on how their skills can make a difference. 

“The main piece that we’re excited about is students seeing the impact that their skills can have in what I think would be considered a nontraditional industry for graduating computer science students,” Borenstein said. “I think opening their eyes to the possibilities for how they can do good in the world is really healthy.”

As the project continues to evolve, Capasso and Matsumoto hope to have future student cohorts improve and expand the project each year. Ultimately, the success of UpLuxo could inspire similar initiatives around the world, bringing circular economy principles to other healthcare institutions and beyond.

“Hospital waste is just the beginning,” Capasso said. “Imagine the impact if more industries began viewing waste as a resource. We’re on the edge of a new mindset, and we hope this project sparks real change.”

Capasso is also Professor of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Associate Dean of Research at Stanford University School of Medicine and Advisor to the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign.